The 31st Piece Overturns the Game Board

The Forest Guardian, a giant parrot with vibrant, colorful feathers, had a pair of somewhat awkward-looking eyes and a chatty disposition. He was exactly as Seol remembered him.

"Hey, you know? The giant bees might actually be the strongest creatures in this forest. Not only do they have a nasty temperament, but they are also quite formidable! Their stingers can penetrate any tree, and if you're stung, you'll be bedridden for a month! Aren't you scared of them at all?"

"I'm scared."

"Right? And they have sturdy exoskeletons, so they don't easily die. A long time ago, there was an incident…"

"Oh, no. That must have been quite bad."

"Huh? Ah… Yes."

The Forest Guardian talked too much.

As if he knew how to deal with him, Seol nodded and only gave brief answers to the Forest Guardian.

"Hey, are you listening to me?"

"There's no need to say thanks… Anyway, among giant bees…"

"Shh… We're almost there. You shouldn't make any nose."

"That's right! Giant bees are quite sensitive to sounds! Huh? How did you know? But how is one supposed to stay quiet? I've never done that."

Regardless of what the Forest Guardian was saying, Seol was keeping an eye on the terrifying giant bee hive visible in the distance.

'There should be at least a few more.'

The hives weren't visible at all. Surely, there were more of them hidden around. And as soon as a bee was attacked, numerous others would come flying from somewhere.

Seol recalled such memories.

- Hang in there! Charlie!

- …

Charlie had faced the giant bees while wearing plate armor to protect himself from their stinger.

'Back then, I wasn't clever…'

He realized then that the giant bees’ stingers could penetrate even plate armor.

"How will you fight them? Are you going to do it like Charlie?"

"…"

Upon hearing the Forest Guardian's words, Seol thought of Charlie.

Charlie was the epitome of ordinariness.

He had ordinary facial features and gave the impression of being a man who lived by doing simple work in the village. He was someone unimpressive.

If it weren't for his well-groomed mustache, he wouldn't have been memorable at all. In fact, it probably was the only thing the Forest Guardian remembered about Charlie.

Charlie suffered a great defeat the first time he set out to deal with the giant bees.

Since Seol had already tried it once, there was no need to do that again.

'Beating them up will take several days.'

Due to the time constraints, it was impossible.

Thud…

Seol leaned against a stump and quietly closed his eyes.

"What are you doing? Taking a nap?"

"…"

"Are you giving up? Do you have no intention of fulfilling my request…?"

"No, I'm waiting."

"Waiting for what…?"

Seol yawned and lowered his head.

"The wind."

- The wind?

- ???: Hmm… A southeast wind is coming soon.

- How do you know that?

- I checked the weather forecast this morning.

"Ah! The wind!"

After listening to Seol's words, the Forest Guardian sat next to him. He then closed his eyes and waited along with him.

"Kuoo…"

And then, he fell asleep in an instant. He really fell asleep that quickly.

Upon watching the Forest Guardian fall asleep like that, Seol recalled the past.Nôv(el)B\\jnn

Charlie, who had been gathering numerous poisonous herbs to complete the optimal recipe while in the Underground Garden, spent most of his time here, in the forest.

- Hey, Charlie. Are all humans as silent as you?

Whenever that happened, the Forest Guardian would hang around Charlie and chat to keep him entertained.

Seol reminisced about those times while watching the Forest Guardian, who was deeply asleep. He only hated the work he did back then, not the Forest Guardian himself.

Thud…

He plucked some grass and let it flutter in the wind.

They flew in the exact opposite direction of the beehive.

The forest in the Underground Garden had winds that changed direction moment by moment. So, sitting and waiting for the ideal wind to come was better than moving around frequently.

'In the end, this is still the fastest method.'

Seol watched the Forest Guardian doze off and waited for quite a long time.

"Slurp… Chomp…"

Poke…

Poke…

"Hey, wake up."

The Forest Guardian was drooling while dozing when someone suddenly poked his side. He woke up in surprise.

"Eek!"

"Be quiet."

Whoosh…

The hum of the giant bees’ wings could be heard. They seemed to be patrolling the area.

"Is the wind there yet?"

"No, it's almost here."

Seol lit the prepared firewood.

Tap… Tap…

Crackle…

As the bonfire blazed, Seol took out the seeds he had prepared beforehand and threw them in—it was the Stench Weed he had bought from the Madness Store.

"Ugh… What a smell! Butt! It smells like a wild boar's butt!"

"Cover your nose."

"Nose? But if I cover my nose, how will I breathe?"

"Just breathe through your mouth."

"Ah! It works!"

Taking out the Stench Weed from his bag was quite a hassle.

Seol also took out a cloth to cover his mouth and nose.

"Me too!"

"Here…"

The Forest Guardian also took a cloth, and Seol kindly tied it around his beak.

Then he scattered the stinking Stench Weed into the bonfire.

Soon, the smoke started to turn white. While people often associated white with cleanliness and purity, the intensity of the smell was the exact opposite.

Soon, the smoke began drifting toward the direction of the beehive.

Whoosh…

Crackle…

Crackle…

Tap…

Tatap…

The giant bees, vigorously flapping their wings, collapsed to the ground in just three seconds. In about ten seconds, the bees surrounding the beehive also dropped to the ground.

Thud…

Not only did the visible bees collapse, but the giant bees in other areas also started to fall.

The giant bees were trembling, which soon came to a halt.

Seol approached a fallen giant bee to check its condition.

"So it's dead."

It was the effect of the Stench Weed.

He was so frustrated when he found this out from a druid. He found it unpleasant because he only learned about it after having already fought the giant bees.

Perhaps the easiest way to clear the Underground Garden's Transmission Adventure was to share information with each other.

"Huh? These guys!"

The Forest Guardian suddenly swallowed a dead giant bee with his large beak. The Stench Weed only affected the giant bees, not him. So, eating the dead giant bees wasn't a big deal.

"You bad guys! To think you'd torment the forest!"

Thud…

Thud…

Although it seemed like he was lecturing the giant bees and acting righteous, in reality, he was just eating their corpses.

- Maybe the giant bees are innocent…?

- The Forest Guardian is suspicious!

By burning the Stench Weed and making them inhale its smoke, Seol had eradicated most of the giant bees in the vicinity.

Seemingly full, the Forest Guardian patted Seol's shoulder.

"Burp… You did well! Is there anything you want in return for fulfilling my request?"

'Finally.'

A reward should follow after fulfilling a request.

Soon, choices appeared.

[[You have resolved one of the Forest Guardian's huge problems! He wants to give you a reward for solving one of his worries. What would you like?]

1. I'd like to take the giant bee's exoskeleton.

2. I'd like to take the giant bee's hive.

3. I'd like to take the giant bee's stinger.

4. I'd like to take the giant bee's larva.

…]

Whatever he took would be useful.

The exoskeleton was a material coveted by mechanical engineers and blacksmiths. The hive was desired by cooks and druids, and the stinger was wanted by alchemists.

'What's important isn't what you take.'

Seol said to the Forest Guardian, "Could you concentrate the giant bee's poison for me?"

"Ah, is that what you want?"

"Yes."

Using the giant bee's poison as it was would have a minimal effect. However, using it concentrated was lethal.

'That's something I can't do right now.'

Charlie was a poison master and an Assassin. That's why he could concentrate the giant bee's poison on his own. However, Seol's job was far from that of handling poison, and he needed help.

'The effect of the completed poison will probably be less effective than Charlie's... But still, this is the best choice.'

As a poison master, Charlie’s poisons were far more potent than others using the same toxin. Even if Seol managed to replicate it, his version wouldn’t have the same effect as Charlie’s.

'Even so, it will still have a pretty nasty effect.'

He was confident that the poison would be effective against Azanic, too.

Drip…

The Forest Guardian extracted the concentrated poison from inside the giant bee’s exoskeleton.

"Here you go!"

"Thanks."

"And… Take this too!"

The Forest Guardian handed something over to him.

"Why this…"

"Because the beehive is intact! If you give it to Sleepyhead, something good will happen!"

This seemed to be some kind of easter egg since Seol hadn't touched the beehive at all.

A gift to Sleepyhead? It must lead to a good reward.

"Reach out your hand!"

Tss…

[You have obtained the Forest Guardian's seal.]

[Sleepyhead will meet you.]

He also obtained the second seal.

Not only was it etched on the back of his hand, but the forest's pattern was also embedded.

The Forest Guardian scratched his head and said.

"Well, then… Thanks! It was a meeting that reminded me of that human!"

"That human…?"

"Yes! There was a human who foolishly climbed a tree to catch the giant bees! Hahaha! Isn't it fun? As expected, I think that the most important characteristic of all living beings might be intelligence…"

Crunch…

"Huh? Are you angry?"

"No. I'm not angry."

- He seems quite angry.

- From our point of view, he seems pretty angry, hahaha.

- Why is he angry?

- Is he hot-tempered?

The Forest Guardian looked at the forest and said.

"I wonder if he's doing well. He did say he wouldn't come back again…"

Seol's expression changed.

'Does he miss Charlie?'

Thinking how much he struggled with Charlie, it seemed possible. Moreover, the Forest Guardian had been protecting this place alone for a long time.

Along with loneliness, he must also be longing for the connections that had left.

"Human, next time, if you go out… Find me a human who looks like this."

Clack… Clack…

The Forest Guardian drew a crude picture on the ground with his claws.

Other than the well-drawn mustache, the other features were completely unrecognizable.

"So, is this what he looks like?"

"Yes, he has some hair under his nose!"

"Do you want to see him again?"

"Yes! Tell him to visit! It was fun hanging out together!"

Seol chuckled.

"Alright… Got it."

"Goodbye! Ah, by the way, the Swamp Guardian probably won't be as kind as I am!"

Seol left the forest.

After passing through the forest, he reached the second gateway. It was another cave.

He did the same thing as he did in the first cave.

'Phew… That took me quite a while.'

But still, it had been relatively fast. Only the last gateway remained.

The swamp revealed itself before him.

On the surface, there was nothing unusual.

'Where is the Swamp Guardian?'

Among the Administrators, obtaining poisonous herbs from the Swamp Guardian was the one that took the longest. Because of this, Charlie occasionally ventured into the swamp himself to find the desired poisonous herbs.

'First, I should step…'

WHOOM…

"Huh…?

WHOOM…

[The main contents of 'Dragon's Vengeance' have changed.]

['Dragon's Vengeance' has changed to 'Premature Visit.']

…

Seol quickly checked the Adventure's new content.

"Damn…"

It seemed the entrance of the ruins wouldn't be able to withstand Azanic’s power for much longer, and he would soon enter the Underground Garden.

'Damn it… I knew this would happen.'

In cases like this, the wise decision would be to give up on delivering a final blow and just flee straight away.

Just as all his efforts up to now were about to go to waste, someone appeared next to Seol.

"Do you need a seal?"

A plump humanoid toad appeared and talked to him.

"What…?"

"I'm the Swamp Guardian. If you help me, I'll give you the Swamp's Seal."

Seol looked at the toad with a confused expression.

'This guy…'

He then quickly fixed his expression.

There were thirty minutes left at the best. That's why obtaining the Swamp Guardian's favor and getting the desired poisonous herbs and the Swamp's Seal during that time was practically impossible.

The dragon would soon break through the gate and grab his neck from behind.

No matter how he thought about it, he had to give up.

"Alright… Swamp Guardian, what do you want me to help with?"

However, after thinking about it a bit more, it seemed like a speedrun was possible.